Żurrieq's Protected Cliffs to Welcome 14 Exclusive Eco-Bungalows, Pools Included
Fourteen pool-equipped bungalows have been approved on an Area of Ecological Importance, a protected seabird colony and a slice of Natura 2000, in a triumph of higher-quality rural design.
Pack your swimwear. Żurrieq’s protected cliffs are finally open for business.
In a landmark win for sensitive coastal development, fourteen luxury bungalows (up from twelve, naturally), eight of them with their own private pools, plus a restaurant and reception, have been approved on a clifftop above the sea on the outskirts of Żurrieq. The site enjoys the very highest protections the islands can bestow, and now it will enjoy an infinity-edge view to match.
Nature, but make it exclusive
Most resorts make do with a sea view. This one is set within an Area of Ecological Importance, an Area of High Landscape Value, and partly inside a Natura 2000 zone, the EU’s network of its most precious habitats. Where others see binding designations, the discerning guest sees a gated community with the best possible neighbours: legislation. Rarely has anywhere so protected been made so available.
The seabirds get neighbours
The cliffs are home to a breeding colony of protected seabirds, who will now share their address with eight private pools and a restaurant terrace. Conservationists fret that the development would “irreversibly damage” the colony, which is, if anything, a glowing testament to its permanence. The birds were here first, but they never thought to apply for a permit.
Paradise, upgraded
The bungalows replace the old Garden of Eden, a wedding venue of reception halls, a nightclub and a derelict farmhouse, now demolished and excavated to make way for something more tasteful. It is a scene worthy of Hieronymus Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights: paradise on the left, development on the right, and a great deal happening in between. The new bungalows are, the file assures us, of “much higher quality rural design” than the things being knocked down to build them.
Photo: Times of Malta Restraint you can feel
Lest anyone think this immodest, the plans were nobly downscaled: the indoor pool, sauna, gym and basement housekeeping were all sacrificed, leaving a mere eight private pools to carry the burden. Clad in local limestone, dressed with timber screens, and ringed by reinstated rubble walls, the complex promises a visual impact described as “relatively limited,” which on a protected clifftop is the most relative phrase ever written.
The restraint runs deep. The scheme was downsized from an earlier vision that sprawled across more than 22,000 square metres, so fourteen bungalows now register as heroic self-control. There was even a flourish of good citizenship: a car park across the road, originally built without permission, has been graciously legalised in the very same process, proof that it is never too late to apply for something you have already finished.
Come for the Natura 2000 designation. Stay for the pool. The seabirds, after all, can’t check out.
